Gentlemen Start Your Engines....

today was Awana Grand Prix, a day full of hot cars, speed and lots of yelling. This year both of the kids entered cars again....

Noah's - The Force

Sydnie's - Purrrrrfect

The kids each told thad how they wanted to design their cars..sydnie even drew a picture to show him. This is such a blast for them...they love thinking of different ideas and ways to make their cars cool. It is not about the speed for them, yet. They just want to make cars that are things that they like. This morning was full of excitement as we headed down to the church, they were wishing each other luck and full of hope that their cars would win something. Last year Noah's Larrymobile won first place for design in the open class, so for a full year his sister has been plotting her moves, waiting of her chance to shine. The cars raced okay, they did not make it in the final heats. Sydnie's class was the last to compete so finally at 2:30 she found out that she had one first place for design.....ahhhhh can you hear the thunderous applause. She was so thrilled. That is all she wanted. Good things come to those who wait and plot and plan for twelve months. Seriously though, it is the coolest thing. Noah's friend won first place for design in the open class and Noah was excited for him and super excited for Sydnie. I loved that the kids were cheering each other on and a group of them were chanting names when their friends cars raced....good clean adrenaline.

Create = Thrive

I love this....i love that my 7 year old has such imagination and ingenuity. I love that she is creative, that she gets that art feeds your soul. She has always been in love with creating, getting into a project and feeling the joy that comes with finishing. She is truly amazing to watch as she creates. She has grown from color crayons to playdoh to clay to glitter and now her fascination...the cats cradle. She thrives on the artistic expression. Of course that means in our lifetime we will probably have killed about 1,000 trees. One mother alone could not keep all of her creations....but at least i take pictures of them and journal about her love (wink wink). She came home from Grandma's this last week with this box...simple and pure. Who wouldn't want to buy a bunch of balloon dogs from a seven year old? Maybe I should set up a stand and let her peddle her wares.....or maybe I should secretly take the box about a week from now and throw them all away and let her start all over again (did I just write that...oh well, now you see the true me). We all have this desire to create within us and I am glad that Sydnie lets out her inner creativity and just has fun with it.

Upward Basketball Mania

About 3 years ago our church started a program called Upward Basketball...http://www.upward.org/about.aspx....this is an amazing program designed to teach children the skills of basketball and the good news of Jesus Christ. Now since it's inception my husband has been very involved (meaning we don't see him for about 3 months out of the year) but last year he was able to coach Sydnie's kindergarten team and this year he moved up with Sydnie to 1-2 grade girls. We have had 3 games so far and about 7 practices.....and the results are getting better. At the beginning I am not sure any of them could shoot very well, run an offense or do anything more on defense than the electric slide. But last night we actually had a basketball game, i mean real shots were taken, the offense Thad taught them started to come together and well defense, needs some work. I love to see the girls faces when they know that they have done what they are suppose to....the look of satisfaction when they pass to a teammate that is open, they stop a shot from being taken or that they stole the ball from the opposing team. I love this opportunity for kids from our area to play on a league that promotes teamwork, upholding sportsmanship and encouragement. So girls....GAME ON

stop the presses.....

it is now lunch time and i just realized i have not had coffee today....what, i mean what? how did that happen, i always have a coffee. you know what is worse....i had a cup of tea instead. did someone take the real me last night and leave a teatotaler instead? i am not really sure how i feel about this. i guess that means i still will have some creamer left for tomorrow morning. but on the other hand, i will probably be getting the all to real caffeine deprived headache very soon.

this addiction all started about 13 years ago when i worked for the infamous fred meyer corporate office and they built a starbucks cart inside. i started off with just the regular vanilla latte...but quickly graduated to a caramel latte and not just one, but two a day (so I could stay awake during out afternoon meetings). when i went to work for nike we used to go on a starbucks run about 9am every morning, that is when i could afford starbucks everyday(monetarily and physically). but now i am down to maybe once a week starbucks run and every other day is just good old fashion drip with some creamer from my own little coffee shop at home. but i have gotten off the subject..........caffeine withdrawals.

good thing a friend "who shall remain nameless" just dropped off a pepermint mocha to cure the headache that was just setting in.

Wild Weather

Okay so I live in oregon and not much really happens here but rain. But this winter has been so crazy: rain, snow, sleet, wind and freezing rain. This morning I woke up to a winter wonderland, but not the snowy, beautiful kind...the icy, traffic stopping kind. I informed my husband of what was happening and he called to find out if the bus was still running up to Wilsonville...sure enough it was, so off he drove.

Thad: I made it on the bus.

Me: so how was driving?

Thad: fine, well I slid a little bit

Me: where?

Thad: when I pulled into the bus stop, because the bus was already there and I was in a hurry.

Me: so you know if the buses stop running today, you are stuck in wilsonville for the night! cuz I am not driving up to get you. (such compassion)

Thad: yeah, I know. alright see ya later. (do you sense the "they are so not going to stop running, stop worrying" attitude)

And they finally canceled my daughters school. we were one of the only hold outs in the valley. Thank goodness I just got a movie in the mail for the kids to watch...that should carry us through a good portion of the morning with no whining or crying. Good luck to me today.

I just opened my window to SNOW!!!! I LOVE IT!!! I was wishing for this all morning....just to pound us with some beautiful white stuff. Maybe it will be a beautiful day after all.

Here it is...

So in my Jack Bauer post I told you that I had made my SIL a t-shirt to celebrate her obsession with 24....here are the photos. You can see her expression when she opens the box and sees it...seriously so funny. She wore that shirt for about 2 years every tuesday when the show aired. We would call each other and talk about the show. I also bought my brother a shirt that said "jack will be right back". They had a commercial that aired with the ticker counting down and a voice that said "jack will be right back".....super cool at the time.

Watched last night....had the lights off, Thad right by my side, no kids so we could turn the volume up and just enjoy. I do have to say I was a little grossed out by the biting of the arteries....that is the first time I have ever really flinched in this show. Loved last night...cannot wait to see tonight. I do have to say that the whole cleaned up jack, with the shirt buttoned to the top...did they forget the tie or is that standard off to my death attire?

I loved the moral dilemma of detainment camps and the tension that came from those discussions. Is that something that this country would ever do again? I thought it brought a true reality, in that if we were to have attacks on a daily basis, would you look at someone from a different nationality differently? Would you not get on the bus with them or help them because they were your neighbor?

Till tonight..................

To be fair

the photograhy has been done by the first born as well...in fact for her birthday she got a digital of her own. Wanted to share some her photos from when she was five and discovered the camera....okay first time I let her take it on her own.

Budding Photographer

I took my camera out today to snap some pictures of stuff to sell on Craig's List and next thing I know Noah comes running over to say that he needs to take some photos as well. This is a first in our house, the picture takers are myself and sydnie. He was so excited, he must have snapped 50 shots off, I literally had to pry the camera from his hands. Can you tell what his favorite things are....Playmobil & Star Wars.It looks like he even dragged all of his lightsabers and arranged them to take a shot. I know it is hard to tell on these small pictures, but he has Luke doing battle with Darth, Luke knocked over, then Darth knocked over, watch out annie liebovitz. He did stop to take a photo of mom and the dog, but most of the shots were of toys. Good times here at our house today.

New Year = Keyword = balance

I opened my inbox this morning to find a new edition of AEzine (newsletter from the fabulous Ali Edwards) and it has been pulling at my mind today. Her challenge was for each of us to pick a keyword for the year and apply it to our lives...different than a resolution, more about defining your life or defining a characteristic that needs work. I think last year was a year of freedom for me....free to laugh, love, live and play with abandon. To not be so stressed, to enjoy life in all its beauty, to create memories, to just be. As I look back over the last year it sure was a chaotic one, filled with some not great stuff, but because of my faith in God I was able to see His hand at work and survive. I became stronger because of it and about half way through I realized that I needed to loosen up a lot and just have a good time with life. It has changed so much for me...so this year my keyword is Balance....

bal·ance noun, verb

a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc; mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behavior, judgment, etc

I want to balance out my life...make the time to do the things I enjoy and be with the people I love. I want to play games with my kids, read a good book, watch a few movies, be involved in ministry, actually do my bible study and spend good quality time with my husband. I want to take walks, ride bikes, go camping, do housework (well not really), work in my kids' school, and still be able to say at the end of the day that I was productive and made a difference in my kids life. I want to be able to say no, a lot more than I do and say yes to some things i have never done before. I want to be impulsive and enjoy life everyday. Yep...balance is a good thing....so here is to a new year and a new motto.

new love in my life

So yesterday I was at Fred Meyer and browsing through there clearance stuff and noticed that they had a dyson on clearance and on top of it I got to take an additional 40% off. So I am now the proud owner of an amazing vacuum cleaner and I could not be happier. I took it out of the box today and OMG I just about flipped my lid. I could not believe how much dirt it picked up, I was mortified. Owning a pet is such a joy, but you know how much dirt you don't see, but is there...now I feel like I am attacking it. I seriously love this machine.....

Jack Bauer Will Have to Die

HOLY CRAP........I cannot wait for season 6. Can I really wait 12 more days....I think not. Who cares about a clean house, groceries, dinner for the children, Upward Basketball or Lost. Seriously all about Jack. Love this show. I love that they play all 24 episodes back to back, no waiting for weeks to see what happens...just pure instant gratification. I still remember the day my friend debbie called me to tell me to watch this show on fox that was going to repeat the premiere episode...I thought I can do that, I had a newborn to feed at that time...might as well. I have not looked back once. I even got my brother and sis in law addicted...which I think they might still hate me for it. That second season Christmas, my SIL told me she wanted an "I Heart Jack Bauer" shirt to wear on air night....so what did I do, but went out and had one made for her....seriously great video of that present being opened. When others say how can they possibly do one more season, I say bring it on. Although I was a little upset by Tony and President Palmer's deaths last year....I mean Tony would have made a great president. I just need to figure out how to put the ticker on my blog...countdown the minutes until we see Jack kicking in action again. I may have to go on a 24 binge the next two weeks....just to prepare.

Heartbreaker

Birthday Girl

So here are a few shots from Sydnie's 7th birthday party....the festivities happened on friday the 29th, but the computer has been giving us a difficult time and so I am posting a little late.....She had a blast with 8 of her little friends. The girls played Dance Praise and made a couple of crafts (an adorable ballet necklace and beaded heart frame). They all really loved the dancing and in between everything they would run upstairs to play air hockey or barbies. This is the first year that I can recall Sydnie being super gracious and saying thank you for every gift and just really nailing the whole hostess thing. She was super. She had her two cousins stay the night and they had a blast opening all the gifts and playing with everything. How did she get to be 7 already? The night before we watched her baby video....she had a lot of fun seeing how little she was and seeing herself grow up. Everyone says that it goes by super fast and they are right....i love you syd.

The G-House

it is our time honored tradition to make a gingerbread house in the weeks before Christmas and this year is no exception. We sat down tonight as a family and worked on the masterpiece. We used to make our own gingerbread and buy the candies to go with, the first year we were married Thad wanted to make a replica of the church his parents were married in, I am talking stained glass windows and everything!!! Now in order to make time for other christmas traditions...I buy a kit from costco!!! Thank goodnes...still the same amount of fun, but a lot less work. Sydnie had a great time this year...noah was more interested in his new lego star wars than decorating anything. Now tomorrow is the real work with baking treats for the neighbors, now if I could only buy a kit of homemade sugar cookies and fudge life would be great......enjoy the season and make the most out of the time that you have with loved ones and family. Merry Christmas.

"Help is coming from above"

we just got home from watching Charlotte's Web...one of my all time favorite books and movies from when I was a kid. I love that line on the movie posters...help from above. The message of this movie is so good. Look at someone for who they are not what they look like. I have been reading the story to the kids from my old book, the pages are worn and very loved. We own the old animated version and they have seen it several times...I cannot tell you how much I loved this movie.

"Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class all by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both."

EB White 1952 Charlotte's Web

Sailing the seven seas....

and throwing a party for eleven 5 year olds, can sure take you away from your computer. Noah had his Pirate party yesterday and boy was it loud and a shipload full of fun. Each of the boys was given an eye patch and bandana to wear when they came in and then sent off to play until everyone arrived. Then we played pin the X on the map, which I am sure some of the boys could see thru, because we had about 5 that hit it dead on. Then we went on a treasure hunt. Now it is the middle of winter and yesterday was cold, so we had to move the treasure hunt indoors. The funniest part of the whole day was when one little boy who we will call "mad dog wiggins" shouted out "holy ship!" and then everytime a present he liked was opened he would shout it again. Laughed so hard I could barely stop. Almost forgot that Santa came by yesterday as well and handed out candy canes to all the pirates on hand. (that just took a little call to the Keizer Fire Dept to make sure they stopped by during the party). Of course no pirate party would be complete without a treasure chest full of loot, each kid received a loot bag full of gold coins, an eraser sword, pop ring, skull straw, pirate tatoos and more candy. Noah had a great time, but once those presents were opened, he did not even want to eat cake. He was super excited about his star wars transformers and his spring action light saber. Alas, the pirate went to sleep with his new toys in hand. Good times, mom and dad are very tired, house is in chaos, but would do it all again. Sleep well little pirate.

Tree Hunting

A day spent at Reinhart's Tree Farm with family. A tradition that we have done for 5 years now....so much fun. We always find the most perfect tree and that is just walking up to the first tree, literally. We always have hot cider and cookies afterwards and watch the singing/talking christmas tree. Thad put the lights up on Saturday with some help from my brother and they look great as always. The tree is in its stand in a new location this year, the entryway, then it can be seen from the family room and the front room. Now we just need to find to decorate it. The kids are most anxious to get their ornaments on and will drive me crazy by days end if we don't put them on. How perfect that it has been snowing today...puts you in the Christmas spirit.

Oh No it's a blizzard......

Home from Eagle Crest. Good time with just Thad and I and the kids. We watched movies and went swimming alot. Sydnie swam the whole length of the pool all by herself, she was so excited. The day we left a massive snow storm hit the pass and we were suppose to drive home in it. We did not have chains so we had to make a detour to the local tire store. As we started driving up the mountain you could feel the chill and then it started snowing...it has been a couple of years since the kids have had snow, so they were so excited. It was absolutely beautiful. I don't know how you cannot see God in his creation when you look at the hillsides and trees covered in snow. The snow falling was breathtaking. Sydnie kept saying that we were in the middle of a blizzard....We stopped to get out and let the kids play for a while in the snow. Sydnie went over the little snowbank and fell straight into the snow....laughing the whole time. Noah of course tried to eat the snow! It was the highlight to a very restful and memorable time. Just had to share.

Stormy Weather

I love the Northwest...yes we get rain and today it is rainy and windy...and I love it. A perfect day to stay at home and turn the fireplace on, curl up with a good book. Of course that did not happen. I had to help out in my daughter's classroom today and then I spent all afternoon working on 50 bridal shower invites....my hands hurt. Then I have to go back out tonight into the blustery day to go to Awana. So instead of cooking my children a healthy meal I took them to McD's and now I am playing on the internet, trying to find thrifty, cool ideas for the shower. Maybe tonight I will finally get to sit and curl up to a good finale to Dancing with the Stars. Peace...out.

"Is this place about science or what?"

that was what my daughter said when we finally hit OMSI thursday morning, she thought it was like disneyland. I cannot believe that I have not taken either one of them there before, but now that the Star Wars exhibit is around we had to go. Thad had the day off and the kids were out of school. Noah is such a fanatic that I knew he would love it, Sydnie would be excited about the rest of it. We spent two hours in the Star Wars area, loved seeing all the costumes and models. The kids loved the "landspeeder" that they could ride on and the millenium falcon ride. It was a super long day...we did not leave there until 4pm then we headed over to the old spaghetti factory for dinner. Good memories.

Happy First Birthday

this is for my niece Ryen...who celebrated her first birthday November 1st. Happy Birthday cutie pie.

Happy Day After

A knight and a Fairy Princess...who could ask for anything cuter. The kids had so much fun last night, but the best part was this morning, waking up to see what the Candy Fairy had left each of them. I started this a couple of years ago and they still ask me each year if the Candy Fairy is going to visit. They each pick out 15 pieces of candy that they love and the rest goes back in the bucket, set out in the living room and in the morning the Fairy has taken the candy, but left a present in it's place. My brother and his wife came over with cousin Ryen and she went out for a couple of houses, I think the candy was for my brother!!!! She looked adorable all dressed up like a little kitten.

Ice Cream

WOW...today is so much better. Sydnie woke up this morning and was actually on her floor playing with her little pet shop animals. We stopped giving her the pain medication and she is only on tylenol, seems to keep the pain down a little and she is not so out of it. She has eaten a bowl of ice cream and mashed potatoes, not together. She is doing really good. Hopefully it will last. Now me on the other hand, could use a serious nap today...but I will just keep plugging along.

Not such a good day

Today has been such a rough day for Sydnie. She has a horrible fever and she is in pain. She does not want to swallow, but she will drink. The only thing that she will "eat" is ice cream. Which of course she likes. Did you know that studies show that kids that chew gum after a tonsillectomy improve quicker, so we tried that today but it did not taste good to her. We have been through a ton of movies and she is on her second nap of the day. Hopefully she will feel better in the next couple of hours.

Surgery Day

so here we are seven months after Sydnie's first round of sickness and finally the tonsils are coming out. She has been sick every month since march and the pharmacist has become my best friend. We checked in this morning at 7am and Sydnie was excited to be there, only until they finally told her she would have a "straw" in her arm that allowed them to put medicine into her body without getting shots. Now Sydnie is too smart and knew that they were going to stick a needle in her arm, but she did okay with it once we told her it was not the size of "straw" you would drink a slurpee out of. She was so brave and really came through the surgery without any complications. The actual procedure lasted 30 minutes and recovery was only about an hour and half. She has eaten one bowl of ice cream so far and taken some pain medication. We have movies on hand and lots and lots of popsicles. Thanks to all of our friends who have been praying for the situation, we felt every prayer today. So for now life is good. we will see how tonight goes.